Wall Street report: Friday close

TECHS helped Wall Street shrug off a jolt from the healthcare insurance industry to post its third straight winning week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 126.65 points or 1.5% to 8443.99, a gain of 1.5% on the week. The Nasdaq surged 32.42 points or 2.5% to 1331.13, its highest close since August.

Reasons for the rally in techs were hard to find, but that did not stop investors chasing up Hewlett-Packard 82 cents or 6% to $14.62, IBM $2.46 or 3.4% to $74.56 and Intel 96 cents or 6.1% to $16.59.

The strength in techs overpowered weakness in other sectors. A surprisingly harsh warning from Cigna, America's third biggest healthcare insurer, sent its shares plunging $24.21 or 38% to $39.39. Joseph France, of Credit Suisse First Boston, said the falling stock market had been 'disastrous' for Cigna.

'At first, it stunted growth in the retirement business, then resulted in a huge variable annuity charge,' he said. 'Most recently, market returns have hurt the company's internal pension plan.'

Goldman Sachs called the Cigna update 'worse than worst case' but said the problems were company-specific and recommended other players in the sector. Oxford Health slipped 41 cents or 1% to $41.97, Aetna rose 45 cents or 1% to $41.45 and United HealthCare retreated $1.19 or 1.2% to $97.09.

Economic data was mixed. Home sales figures showed resilience in a market some commentators have described as a 'bubble,' durable goods orders showed their biggest drop in 10 months and the University of Michigan's latest reading on consumer confidence dipped to reflect growing caution.

Anthony Crescenzi of investment firm Miller Tabak said the data showed business and consumers were less confident. 'This data show that business is not yet confident that we are in a recovery and the consumer has some doubts as well,' he said.

Amazon.com fell 56 cents or 2.8% to $19.30 after it declined to offer detailed forecasts for its 2003 performance. The online retailer's quarterly sales at least matched analysts' expectations, but there are lingering doubts that the company can sustain profitability in a sluggish economy.

Personal care company Gillette closed up $1.49 or 2% to $73.99 after legendary investor Warren Buffett said he would leave the board next May due to pressure of commitments at his other holdings, including investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway.